LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 |
More on LAMICTAL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Bipolar; Anxiety/Borderline/Epilep | Allegedly there is a rare but very dangerous rash that some people can develop; I never got it. If noticed, contact your doctor quickly and discontinue use of Lamictal. | Anxiety is greatly reduced, I can go to rave parties and not get sick from the flashing lights, my mood is generally stable and I am much more "clear headed", memory has gotten better, no sexual side effects for me, or noticeable weight gain. Though it hasn't fixed everything, I generally like the drug, and can not think of any big side effects because I have been on it so long, and am beginning to forget the s****y life I had before finding it. (Note: These results won't work for everyone, it was simply a good match for myself.) | F | 20 | 1.2 years 200 1X day | 4/25/2011 | 1 | Bipolar buturns out wrong diagnosis | Initially: lots of muscle cramps, mild headaches, bumping into things, tingling in hands/feet, trouble remembering what I did a minute before. Permanently: short-term memory loss, trouble finding words to express, myself, eyes dart back and forth at rapid speeds once in a while, blurry vision, generally feel dumber and nothing sticks when I read. | I'm so angry that I was on this medication for so long at such a high dosage. My doc admitted 2 years into it that I was not really bipolar. I feel like I was used as a guinea pig. I don't understand why anyone who DOES NOT suffer from seizures should take this drug. It makes you two levels dumber. I used to be very good at expressing myself verbally and now I have trouble with it. I started this medication three years before law school and ended it right around the time I started school. I am just finishing law school and could definitely tell the difference in my memory problems when I started studying. For those of you who say the memory loss/trouble finding words is not a problem--just wait, at some point it will be. Then, you will realize what you traded for the calming/numbing feeling of Lamictal. I didn't think it was a problem at first because my life was not very demanding at the time. However, now, I'm horrified at the thought that the memory problems are permanent. What's even more infuriating is I stopped the drug very abruptly and nothing happened. I was not depressed, anxious, scared...etc I was actually completely NORMAL!!! What a damn waste of brain cells. Be careful people!!! This drug is for people who suffer from seizures...it is supposed to decrease the activity in your brain. Just because it makes people with bipolar feel better doesn't make it the right drug if the trade off is your intelligence. I'm sure there is a better drug out there f | F | 29 | 2.5 years 150 2X day | 4/22/2011 | 3 | For depression | Severe long and short term memory loss. Difficulty finding words to express a concept. Depression breakthrough. WEIGHT GAIN - 60 lbs in 2 years. Increased anxiety attacks. | In 2 years I gained 60 pounds. That was the worst side affect for me. I have ALWAYS been between 130-140 lbs my whole life. The weight crept on. I was originally on Lexapro and Lamictal. I weened myself off Lexapro for the same reason, and it has been difficult in losing the weight, but after 2 months, my metabolism is evening out and I'm losing - but VERY slowly. I have to work twice as hard for every pound. I watch everything I eat, I work out 4-5 times a week, etc. Now, I'm weeing off of Lamictal for similar reasons. Plus, I'm getting breakthrough depression anyways. It has helped some in the way of mood balance, but I'm' never really happy, always forgetful, and as an engineer in my days before Lamictal I had fantastic recall. Now, my memory is shot, and I've had to take a job at my family's business because they know they have to repeat things to me. It is embarrasing. However, I am working hard on that as well. If I knew this medication was going to rob me of my memory and pack on the lbs that would be so difficult to lose, I would have NEVER taken this medicine. My doctor NEVER warned me of these side effects. My old doctor put me on this with the misdiagnosis that I was bipolar, my new doctor read all of my history, and said I was misdiagnosed. So, I'm weeing myself off this drug as well and substituting it with the overwhelming research on the anti-depression characteristics of Fish Oil. I'm taking a combo of Fish oil and and Primrose oil 1 tablespoon | F | 39 | 2 years 200 1X day | 4/20/2011 | 1 | Bipolar | Headaches, sore throat, runny nose, cough, jaw clenching, all of a sudden (within 4 weeks) my skin started sagging and I am developing wrinkles in my face (my skin in my face feels totally different), lower back pain, trouble swallowing, extremely dry mouth, unexplainable rashes, red blotches, tongue pushes against my front teeth, peeling spots on my fingers, sore painful fingertips and the skin actually breaks, weight gain which I can't get off even though I monitor my food intake and I work out, trouble sleeping and/or staying asleep, feel like I am in a fogg all the time, feel tired and lazy and unmotivated all the time, difficulty focusing and remembering things, feels like I have lost half of my vocabulary, short term memory loss. | I should have quit taking this stuff in January of this year when I had these red blotches all over my body for the first time. I though agreed to try it again. Wished I wouldn't have. I believe this med has a negative sideeffect on my skin, especially face area. Really upsets me because I used to have great skin until 4 weeks ago and NO wrinkles at all. This is crazy. And I have to live with this now for the rest of my life! I will never take this med again. Anybody else experiences this skin change and sudden wrinkle development too???? I quit it about 2 days ago, hopefully some of this crap will return to normal. I have no hope though! I am so upset! | F | 42 | 6 months 200 mgs 1X day | 4/16/2011 | 2 | Major depression, unipolar | Using wrong words a lot when began at low dose, then compulsive nighttime behavior, like staying up until 4 am googling things. Could not stop even though I was exhausted (no previous history of complusive behavior) then acne (no history of acne, even during adolescence) did not help depression at all. Chills. | Was prescribed due to the fact that my depression seemed to be recurrent and cyclical, even though I have no history of anything like hypomania or mania. I didn't even get up to a "therapeutic dose" because I was staying up all night, feeling worse by the day, and many troublesome side effects at even a very low dose. No history of senitivites to meds. Sort of awful experience. | F | 42 | 1 months 50 1X day | 4/13/2011 | 1 | kidney pain | extreme itching (no rash though), sore dry eyes, nightmares, GI problems, headaches, weight loss, loss of coordination. Unexplained bruising and sore lips. | Feel like I'm being poisoned. Has done NOTHING for the pain, in fact feel like the pain has increased. The itching is intolerable, Benadryl does nothing for it. Doc wants to INCREASE the dosage, says I haven't reached the right level for pain relief...WTF?! It'll kill me by then...want off this garbage NOW. | F | 46 | 3 months 50 mg 2X day | 4/10/2011 | 3 | Bipolar 1 | Spleepy. I passed out the first night taking 400mg. I still had nightmares and extremem paranoia. I decided to play just before it kicked in and i fell asleep that i would play the "Silva Method" that my dad teaches in his self enhancement course. When i woke up i felt like i could run a marathon. i was so happy i bounced around the house till my father told me to shut up lol. I do believe that lamictal open the sub-conscience. I dream-pt of marriage and love and happiness. Of course i will never meet this man but its strange. Other than that people have reported the same feeling. Its over whelming and i havnt felt depression at all. not even the urge to kill myself like the days passed. | Lamictal and positive energy around you can help. Don't rely on the drug alone. Make an effort to be happy and outgoing. One drug alone can not work a miracle. You must put you foot in the door and say i am leave the room of depression. Carpe Diem | F | 21 | 2 months 400mg 1X day | 4/8/2011 | 1 | bipolar | When tapering off, vivid nightmares. While on: menstrual cramps- my dr failed to warn me taking birth control interacts with lamictal. Birth control makes lamictal less effective, trouble forming thoughts, hair loss. | In addition to side effects, it was just not effective stabilizing my mood. | F | 32 | 5 months 400 mg 1X day | 4/8/2011 | 1 | seizures and to help sleep | I totally agree with the person who posted first. I had and am having terrible side effects... All of the ones he or she named plus I am seeing spots or shadows moving around. I am feeling really sad. I do not have any energy because I have lost my sensation to eat. I cannot taste food. My left side of my face is affected because of severe allergy problems. My whole body aches .. even as Im typing this my wrists are in pain. I have been getting migrains. It is difficult to see properly. The only thing that helps me is too concentrate to music or the lyrics of music... I also like to listen to books it helps me to fall asleep. BUT I WILL TELL YOU IT FEELS AS THOUGH IM NOT SLEEPING I HAVE TERRIBLE NIGHTMARES.. The only good thing about the nightmares is that I actually feel realizations in my life that need to be taken care of. iF THAT MAKES ANY SINCE. I feel so sad.. Im very weary of people and there intentions.... I hesitate before making descisions longer than I should maybe out o | horrible drug. | F | 23 | 3 weeks 100mg 2X day | 4/3/2011 | 1 | Depression | I had a Stevens-Johnson reaction to this medication that involved my liver, spleen, and my whole body in general. My skin peeled off from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. it was horrible. If you are allergic to any medication, do not take this drug. It was horrible and happened very quickly. The doctors in my local hospital failed to diagnose me and it almost cost me my life. Avoid this drug if you have EVER had any adverse reactions. | F | 44 | 10 days 10 mg 1X day | 4/2/2011 | 4 | Bipolar 2 | Massive headache for 3 days whenever they upped my dosage. Weight gain!!!!!! | F | 21 | 24 months 400 2X day | 3/31/2011 | 5 | bipolar 1 | I use this drug as an "extra" to my main drug Lithium. I've had NO side effects at all with either drug. Thanks to Lamictal, I'm able to lead a normal life with the challenges of being bipolar. I take 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening. | F | 22 | 4 years 100 mg 6X day | 3/30/2011 | 1 | TBI/PCS | Severe headaches, dizziness, confusion, blurred vision, extreme irritabilty, lose train of thought quickly, severe ringing in the ear, trouble finding words, weight gain, and vivid nightmares. | I was orinally on Pamelor for TBI/PCS, then moved to Depakote (almost killed me), and now on Lamictal. My issue is that before taking this drug. I had all of the side effects with the exception of weight gain, but after taking this medication. All of of my symptoms are amplified on this drug. My headaches are so intense that I feel as though my head is going to explode. The narcotic pain medication they gave me for the headaches does absolutely nothing for me. The nightmares that I have concern my best friend who past away over seas and me trying to get to him to save his life. How long am I going to relive this nightmare over and over? The doctors refuse to order the Mylogram CT scan to find the root cause of everything. So I am to continue suffering on a medication that I do not want to take in the first place. | M | 35 | 1 weeks 50 1X day | 3/28/2011 | 1 | Depression | short term memory obliteration, dissociative self-harming episode, extreme cognitive impairment, insomnia, emotional numbness, feeling "drunk" but not in a good way | Didn't work for depression at all, though I don't tend to respond well to anti-convulsants as a class of medications, and am highly sensitive to side-effects. I will admit I'm glad I didn't get SJS or any type of rash while on Lamictal.. | F | 27 | 1 months 12.5 mg 1X day | 3/24/2011 | 2 | Epilepsy | I am a healthy, fit athlete. I started on Lamicatal 6 months ago. It is one of the most side-effect riddled drugs I have ever encountered. Acne for the first two months, hot flashes, crazy wild vivid dreams, dizziness and at 200mg I now have constant abdominal pain which has been going on for over 3 months. I have hade every test known to man trying to find a cause of the stomach problems....and nothing has shown up. I have to get off this crazy drug before it turns me insane and takes over my otherwise healthy body and mind. Yes, Lamictal does works in most cases, but the whole ranhe and freqeuency of side effects rules this out for me.....no more. | M | 45 | 6 months 100mg 2X day | 3/23/2011 | 2 | bipolar disorder | I developed severe acne, out of nowhere. Whereas I used to be highly motivated, I became very lazy feeling and began wanting to sleep and lay around a lot more. Gained 20 to 25 pounds, weighing the heaviest in my life. Often felt stupid, as everything in my mind was foggy. It sucked. It sometimes helped with my mood swings, but still was often depressed and would still get manic highs. My sex drive decreased slightly (as i used to be hypersexual). I'm now off of it and feel much better cognitively. Emotionally, I am more out-of-whack, having difficulty if I do not cry everyday and I still need to have sex. It's much more difficult for me to achieve orgasm, though it was very easy for me to prior to taking Lamictal :( | don't take it! unless you would like to even out your mood swings in exchange for weight gain, acne and constantly being aloof. | F | 20 | 3 years 400 mg 1X day | 3/22/2011 | 4 | Unipolar Depression | When upping the dose I would get a headache for a couple of days. Now no noticeable side effects | Although not a panacea Lamictal has lifted me out of a pretty dark place. Most days are depression free. I will never stop it as long as it keeps working the way it is working now. I take 400mgs daily. | M | 56 | 4 months 200mgs 2X day | 3/20/2011 | 4 | bipolar II | First week: Small rash. Discontinued drug for a week, then started at lower dose. With each dose increase: mild dizziness for 2 days, vision changes (seeing spots and flashes of light) First few months: some memory loss, depression, agitation, insomnia, vision changes, serious suicidal thoughts. Ongoing side effects: increased energy (not manic), weight loss, excess vaginal discharge (very annoying!), slightly altered depth perception, very different reaction to alcohol (drastically lowered tolerance and worsened hangovers). | I take the generic lamotrigine. For the most part, I like it. I don't have my mood episodes entirely under control, but they are much milder and shorter in duration. I don't think I'm quite as intelligent as I used to be, but I can concentrate for the first time in years. I tend to think that objects are closer than they are. I can still safely drive. When I'm tired, I feel dizzy instead of sleepy. It took me awhile to figure that out! I would not recommend drinking while taking this medication. Maybe alcohol is fine in small doses, but binge drinking is incredibly painful and I believe it contributed to me being suicidal. | F | 20 | 8 months 125 2X day | 3/20/2011 | 1 | Bipolar mania | Partial memory loss. Dry mouth which has since gone away. | This drug is as good as a sugar pill to me. The doctor wants to double my dose next week to see if that helps. Started on 50 mg twice a day and now its 100 twice a day. I use it in cojunction with Seroquel XR. Has no effect of any kind either physically or psychologically. | M | 26 | 2 months 100 2X day | 3/20/2011 | 2 | Bipolar/PTSD/OCD | Inability to orgasm, loss of sex drive, vivid nightmares, lethargy, back pain, swollen lymph node, weight gain. | I was recently on Abilify which completely eliminated my OCD to the point where I didn't care about anything, and made me gain weight, so I was switched to Lamictal. At first I didn't notice much, but shortly after I realized I couldn't have an orgasm, and was completely uninterested in sex. I work out a lot and still seem to gain weight. The nightmares are horrible and I have several each night. I've developed a large bump in my neck that is a swollen node, and my back and neck constantly hurt. It does stabilize my mood somewhat, but not enough to endure the side effects. Always exhausted as well. | F | 32 | 21 days 50mg x 2 1X day | 3/18/2011 |